Hidden Bruges
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The City of Bruges has a lot of sights to wonder at. But did you know the stories behind the squares and buildings? Here you can get a glimp of it.
Contents |
Legends
- The Swans on the Canals: After the death of Mary of Burgundy Bruges went through some troubled times. The townspeople, enraged by new taxes Maximilian of Austria, Mary’s successor, had imposed upon them, even rose in revolt against their new ruler. As Maximilian was locked up in House Craenenburg on the market square, he helplessly witnessed the torture and eventual beheading of his bailiff and trusted councillor Pieter Lanchals. According to legend, once the duke had regained power, the citizens of Bruges were ordered to keep swans or long necks (langhalzen) on the canals for all eternity.
- The Little Bear of Bruges: When Baldwin with the Iron Arm, the frst Count of Flanders, visited Bruges for the first time, the first creature he saw was a big brown bear. According to legend, all this happened in the 9th century. After a ferce fight the count succeeded in killing the animal. In homage to the courageous beast he proclaimed the bear to be the city’s very own symbol. Today the bear in the niche of the Burghers Lodge is festively rigged out during special celebrations.
Bruges-West
't Zand
- Did you know that the Concertbuilding costed 2 times more than they estimated? One of the reasons could be that the tiles originally used to cover the walls, appeared not suitable for this purpose.
Golden Triangle
Markt
- Before 1745 they sold fish on the Markt. Later they sold corn on that same Markt. Now the only thing that the pubs sell there is thin air.
- The Belfry tower (1240) used to be the administrative centre. In the wooden tower that stood on top of the stone tower, you could find the archives and the treasury. In 1280 the top part burned down and was restored in 1296. Due to lightning in 1493 the tower burned again and was restored to its former glory a few years later, they even added a climbing lion on top (to guard the top?). In 1741 that damned tower burned again (did the lion ate enough?), they restored it in 1753 but decided in 1822 to change it to a neo-gothic crown. The people of Bruges really thought for a long time that the tower was bewitched.
- The Former Provincial Palace (it also used to have lots of pubs) used to be in Classicist Style until 1878 when it got fire and they replaced it with the current Neogothic Style in 1920. The city council wanted to adjust it once more in 1965, but luckily they never did.
- A gleaming terrestrial globe proudly sits on top of Boechoute, the house on the corner. This building from 1477 with its original lean-to-roof is now the Meridian 3 tearoom. When the Brussels to Bruges railway line was inaugurated, not all clocks in Belgium were found to keep the same time. The shortcoming was cured by the globe. At noon exactly the sun coincided with its shadow through a hole in the globe. The line that was thus drawn can still be traced today thanks to a string of copper nails.
Burg
- This square used to be a fortress (you can find gate-names everywhere even under a hotel).
- The Saint-Donatianscathedral has been sold and demolished in 1799 by the French occupation.
- When building the new Crowne Plaza Hotel in 1990 on the Burg, they found the foundations of the Saint-Donatianscathedral. The idea was to maintain this site as a 'Forum Romanum' (consolidate and preserve in open air). If they would, then the hotel would haven't been built at all.
- The entire Holy Blood basilica used to Roman, but in the 15th century it has be renovated into Gothic. The relic contains 30 kg of gold and silver and more than 100 gems. Oh yeah, and a few drops of blood :)
- The Toyo-Ito pavilion would only be on the Burg for one year (2002). The City Council wanted to tear it down because the maintenance is getting too expensive. When in 2006 a forklift ran through the thing, the floor collapsed and then they really wanted to get rid of it. But the Flemmish Government classified it. The City Council now has to maintain it ...
Blinde Ezelstraat
- According to legend, Blinde Ezelstraat (Blind Donkey Street) owes its name to… a blind donkey. The house in the left-hand corner hugging the Canal used to house a mill driven by a donkey. In order to preserve the poor animal from the depressing thought that the only thing it had to do was turn endless rounds, the donkey was put on a blindfold.
Vismarkt
- On the Fishmarket they used to sell corn. Before 1821 everything was sold in open air.
- There was also the East Meat House (Oostvleeshuis). They wanted to increase it in size in the 18th century, they never did and it disappeared in 1919.
Huidevettersplein
- The neighbouring Tanners-square (Huidevettersplein) was known as the Little Fish Market because of the lower quality fish on sale there.
- The whole square can be closed from both sides, originally for smell. For obvious reasons the City Council never gave anyone the right to do that.
Prinsenhof
- As Philip the Fair hadn’t yet laid eyes on his future wife, he sent Jan van Eyck to Portugal to paint her portrait. This way the duke wanted to make certain he had made the right choice. The duke’s ploy worked, because history teaches us that the couple had a happy marriage.
- Although the popular Mary of Burgundy incurred only a minor fracture due to her fall off her horse, the accident would eventually lead to her death at Prinsenhof. Back in those times there was no cure for infammation.
- During the recent hotel renovation no fewer than 568 silver coins, minted between 1755 and 1787, were dug up. After some careful counting and calculations it is assumed that the energetic English nuns entrusted the coins to the soil so as to prevent the advancing French troops from stealing their hard-earned capital.
North of Bruges
Vesten
- Saint George’s Guild, a fellowship of crossbow men. And Saint Sebastian’s Guild with its remarkably elegant tower. This guild goes back more than six centuries, which makes it unique in the world. The society numbers 165 male members exactly and one notable female member: the queen of England. Ever since the exiled English king Charles II took up residence in Bruges in the 17th century, the city and the British royal family have always been closely associated. Whenever the British royal family is on a state visit to Belgium, so the rumour goes, they first of all pop in at the Archers’Guild.
- In the 16th century more than thirty windmills were turning their sails here. Today only four are left.
